Two major players in the Japanese paper industry have been left with
egg on their face after admitting they lied about the amount of
recycled paper in their products.

Several days ago Nippon Paper Group, the second largest paper company in Japan, admitted
it had lied about the percentage of recycled material in its products.
Oji Paper, the countryâ€™s biggest paper company, revealed that it too
had lied about the recycled content of its paper today.

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Oji had claimed that up to 50% of its paper was made of recycled
materials in one case. The actual amount was between 5% and 10%. They
had also claimed their envelopes contained up to 70% recycled paper,
but they never actually contained more than 30%. Some of their paper
contained no actual recycled material.

Oji Paperâ€™s president Kazuhisa Shinoda said:â€We had let the ratio of
recycled paper fall amid rising shipments while the amount of recycled
paper did not grow.â€ He added that the firm â€œbetrayed public trust and
we apologise to our clients and customersâ€. Shinoda said that while he
apologized to the public, he would not be stepping down over the
incident. This contrasts with Nippon Paperâ€™s president Masatomo
Nakamura, who announced he will resign in order to take responsibility
for the companyâ€™s actions.

While the two companies are the largest firms involved in the
scandal, theyâ€™re by no means the only ones. Five of the leading
Japanese paper companies are under scrutiny for allegedly lying about
how much recycled content they use. The Japanese fair trade commission
is determining whether they companies can be prosecuted under
mislabeling laws.

The incident has had an effect on the companiesâ€™ bottom line as
well. Shares of both Nippon Paper and Oji Paper dropped drastically.
Nippon Paper is feeling the heat from its clients as well, as Fuji,
Xerox, and other paper retailers said they would no longer sell their
products.